1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera with which moving pictures can be taken, such as a video camera or a digital still camera enabling a moving picture photographing operation that allows a panning operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term “panning” is used to refer to photographing an image over a wide range by moving the camera during the photographing operation, to the left/right, along the upward/downward direction or the like. Such a panning operation is executed either manually or by using a motor-driven pan head.
When panning the camera held by hand without fixing it to a tripod or the like, the speed and acceleration with which the camera moves are determined by the manner with which the user moves his hands and arms and, for this reason, the speed and acceleration tend to change irregularly, which makes it difficult to obtain a moving picture that pans smoothly. In addition, even when panning the camera fixed to a tripod or by using a motor-driven pan head or the like, the frictional resistance at the tripod or the pan head makes it difficult to achieve the optimal speed and acceleration required for smooth panning. This means that the user needs to have a great deal of experience and skill. If the panning operation is not executed smoothly, the resulting image is bound to be erratic.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2000-261657 discloses a technology whereby the trimming range is automatically adjusted for each frame by tracing a specific photographic subject that is on the move so as to contain it within a central area of the image plane.